


Closure

by green7silver



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Dysfunctional Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Redeeming monsters, Stepfather
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-04
Updated: 2018-01-04
Packaged: 2019-02-28 07:38:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13266774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/green7silver/pseuds/green7silver
Summary: After the desaster on Vulcan Jim gets a comm message frome Frank





	Closure

All members of Starfleet had a lot of comm messages after Nero´s attack. Starfleet wasn´t able to handle things with the communication down for so long. After the catastrophe of losing all of the ships beside the Enterprise and an entire planet, the head quarter wasn´t able for a long time to provide any relevant information to the worried relatives.

So the desperate parents, husbands, wives, friends, former lovers and neighbors tried to find out, what happed to cadets on the lost ships.

Mc Coy later admitted that even his ex-wife had called.

Jim had one message from his mother, not so hysteric like the others – as member of Starfleet herself she had other possibilities. But it was the other message, which really shocked him. He hadn´t seen the face of the screen, since he had left Iowa and the desperation since he had crashed the Corvette.

“Jim? Are you all right? I just saw the news – and I … please tell me that you are all right. I know I haven’t the right, but … please, be all right.”

Jim hadn´t seen or spoken his stepfather since the day he took Pike´s offer – to be honest he even had avoided thinking of him.

But after watching the message for the third time, he finally decided, that it was time to go back to Riverside.

******

The last few days had been the longest of Frank´s live. Only waiting to the ships of the Federation to reach Tharsus had been a similar strain.

It had been ages before Starfleet had made a declaration on news. Finally they submitted lists with survivors and non-survivors.

Not that Frank had been forced to rely on these lists any longer. No the name Jim Kirk had been all over the news.

The new hero, who had saved the earth. Every inch the son of his father.

It was the Kelvin all over. But it didn´t matter. His boy – even if he had never been his boy at all – was safe.

Frank never got an answer of his message.  Not that he had expected any. Jim hadn´t spoken with him for nearly three years – he even had left it to Winona to inform Frank, that he had joined Starfleet after disappearing without a word. Not that he really was to blame for it, not after everything that had happened.

And now becoming a hero like his father, he probably would not remember his unloved stepfather at all.

******

After a long day of hard work Frank had just finished his dinner, when the door bell chimed. Not expecting a visitor he opened – and froze.

“Jim?”

He couldn´t believe that his stepson was staying in front of him and his first impulse was to embrace him and never let go again.

But on second thought he didn´t dare to touch the young man and dropped his hands.

“Hi Frank,” it was Jim, who stepped forward and pulled him into a hug. Frank stand a moment rigid than he buried his face into Jim´s shoulder and hugged him back. He couldn´t suppress a shudder and Jim seemed to sense it, because he tightened his hold for a moment.

They were both not the types for displaying affection – especially for each other – but this time Frank found did extremely difficult to let go.

“I´m so glad, you are okay – well more or less”, getting a closer look he could detect traces of what looked like a severe bar fight, but was probably much worse.

“Well, I survived, “Jim shrugged.

“Do you want to come in?” Frank felt suddenly awkward. “I could offer you a tea or something.”

“Yes, thank you,” Jim followed him inside, looking around. “Nothing changed, hm?”

“No, not really, “ Frank set two steaming cups on the living room table, before sitting down in his favorite armchair, while the younger took the one facing him: “Sorry, that I haven’t  answered your message before. But there was a lot of work, after …”

“I can imagine.”

“You didn´t call a second time”, Jim observed.

“Didn´t think, you wanted to see me”, Frank didn´t meet his eye. “I was a total failure as stepfather. A drunken abusive arsehole most of the time.”

Jim had liked to think he had an abusive childhood, especially when he had phases of self-pity. But then he had accompanied Bones on his voluntary work as a counselor.

Eleven year olds looking like hit with a freight train and sexual abused little girls had haunted his dreams afterwards.

Now he shook his head. “You weren´t abusive. You never hit me. Okay, you yelled at me a few times. Mostly after I had provoked you. I was not an easy kid.”

“You were hurting. And I was the adult. I should have kept a cool head. Even a few times is too much.”

“You were hurting, too”, Jim sighed, “I couldn´t see it as child, but now as adult … You loved my mother for a long time, didn´t you?”

“Since I was a teenager. I never thought I had a chance. But when she came back as a widow, grieving and desperate, I just wanted to be there for her. I really thought we had a chance, you know.”

“And instead she spent ten months of the year off planet and left you with two angry little boys.”

“I tried to earn your affection in the beginning, I really did.”

“I know and I can see, that we hated you especially for two reasons – you weren´t our father and you couldn´t keep Mom from running. But both things were not your fault.”

“No, but I screwed up enough. I drank too much. I let you two provoke me into shouting matches. When you wouldn´t react to kindness I tried it with severity.

Hell, I told your brother to go, when he ran away. And when you took the Corvette, I was angry instead of understanding. You could have been killed this day.”

“You were as much at the end of your rope as us.”

“Oh, I was. So much of the end of my rope that I send you to Tharsus.”

“Tharus IV. Why the hell is everyone feeling guilty about that? Neither you nor mom could have predicted, what would happen.”

“You really try to ease my conscious, do you?”

“Maybe also my own. I was an ungrateful little brat. You ever bailed out of the prison, whatever I had done, even when the farm was in financial problems.

You often didn´t do the right thing, but you tried. And … Mom spend more time in Starfleet than with any of us, Sam ran away and my grandparents were relieved to have me out of their hair. You were the only one, who was always there for me. Thank you.”

“You are welcome,” Frank felt awkward. “I never showed it enough. I love you Jim, you know.”

“I know and I love you too.” Jim felt a bit awkward too. They were both not too good with emotions and he could see that his stepfather was still hurting.

He knelt down before Frank, so that the man had to look at him. “No regrets, okay. You did your best. We all made a lot of mistakes along the way, but I´m not angry with you anymore. We need to let that go to move on.”

“Thank you.”

“You are welcome.”

They exchanged an awkward smile.

“So and now tell, how the hell you managed to land in the middle of trouble this time, “Frank said in a mock scolding tone to lighten the mood.

Jim got back into his armchair and began to explain. He soon found himself talking not only about the mission to Vulcan, but also his years on the academy.

“You seem to have found some really good friends,” his stepfather remarked in the end.

“Oh, yes. I think you would like Bones”, a sudden idea struck Jim. “There will be a ceremony next week, when I get the command of the Enterprise. I would be happy, if you came. And you could meet Bones, Uhura and the rest of my crew.”

Frank hesitated: “You really want me to come with you to the ceremony.”

“I know, you don´t feel comfortable with the Starfleet, but it would mean a lot to me.”

“It´s not that. But you are so much like your father and I don´t feel like I would belong …”

“Yes, a hero like my father – I heard it so often the last days. But you was you, who thought me to survive bar fights and the right level of provocation to shock even a Vulcan. You are the only father, I knew. It would make me happy, if you came.”

“If you are really sure, I would feel honored to come.”

They exchanged a smile and for the first time it felt comfortable for both of them.

Fin

**Author's Note:**

> Still looking for a beta.


End file.
